Page from History

Anita Page (1910-2008) was a blonde beauty who attained her childhood dream of becoming an actress in Hollywood's early days. Though circumstances cut her starring career short, she's still remembered and admired by many film fans. Anita Page: A Career Chronicle and Biography (McFarland) does a fine job of telling her story.

Co-author Allan R. Ellenberger is a highly respected film biographer whose earlier books on Margaret O'Brien and Miriam Hopkins I have enjoyed. His interviews with Miss Page over some years are at the heart of the book. He teams with Robert Murdoch Paton, a longtime fan and collector of memorabilia from Miss Page's life and career.  Their book offers more than 75 photographs, including rare family snapshots and cleanly reproduced film stills, that cover the entirety of her long life.

Signed to an MGM contract at the age of 17, Anita Pomares, rechristened "Page," soon advanced to lead roles, becoming a popular screen presence in films such as Our Dancing Daughters (1928) and The Broadway Melody (1929). She was named a WAMPAS Baby Star, alongside the likes of Jean Arthur and Loretta Young. Miss Page's career took an abrupt downward turn in the early 1930s, after a falling-out with studio boss Louis B. Mayer. Following her marriage to a military man, she retired from the screen, raising two daughters and having few regrets about leaving Hollywood behind. Late in life, in her eighties, she enjoyed a return to acting in indie films, and attracted a new generation of devotees.

The book is divided into two main sections, with a biography being followed by an extensively annotated filmography. It is a rare privilege in the 21st century to learn so much about an actress whose career dates back nearly 100 years, drawing on her first-hand accounts of films that encompass both the silent and sound eras. Though fans of Anita Page will certainly want to snap this up, the book will also appeal to followers of motion picture history in general, especially of the silent era. 

When reminiscing, Miss Page projects just the sort of aura we expect of a silent movie star -- just a bit high-maintenance, and not overly burdened with modesty, which only makes the book more fun. Her recollections of her film colleagues are candid and opinionated, with a dash of dish. Of co-star Clark Gable, she says, "I thought he was charming ... but he just wasn't my type," while she confides that she wasn't impressed with Joan Crawford's acting ability. ("She didn't seem to be able, in my opinion, to hold an emotional moment.") Other famous names who feature prominently in Anita Page's story are Lon Chaney (Sr.), Buster Keaton, and Jean Harlow, just to name a few.

It's still early in the year, but this bids fair to be one of classic film buffs' most noteworthy books of 2021.

NOTE: I was provided a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.